Battery cable connector



Jan. 7, 1958 T. Q. MQCRAY BATTERY CABLE CONNECTOR Fil ed Oct. 19-, 1956 INVENTOR THOMAS QUENTIN McCRAY ATTORNEY United States ll hisinventiomrelates to a connector assembly' f'ora 'batte'ry cable 'and {the tlike, and it particularly relates to a connector-chime clamp typeiwhichaby a simple manipulation, olamps bot-hthe battery terminal postsand t-he cable.

are various types of tbattery 'connectors which have bemused-heretofore and arestin -being used; .+however, they are all subjected to various disadvantages. One of the primary disadvantages of these prior types of connectors isdhe -'fact-that theytendtodamage the baty- For examrlewmany .eftthese devices include the ,nse of ,a belt or screw connection. These bolts or .screws .terid'to corrode and are, therefore, verywdiflicnlttojloosen so,as.to be able to remove the connector. ,Imorder to ,ljoosentiiermit'is necessary to tivist-.,arid pry and thisjlamagesboth the cable and battery post.

Other types use teeth which either bite into the cable or into the post itself. These teeth weaken the cables and posts and cause them to break. This is particularly serious with regard to the posts, because a broken post damages the entire battery. Often, these connectors could not be loosened in time to disconnect the cable from the battery and prevent fire. Many of these prior devices also required excessive manipulation in order to first connect the cable and then the battery post to the connector.

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly for battery cables and the like which may be quickly and easily manipulated to connect and disconnect the cable from the battery terminal post.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a connector assembly for battery cables and the like which will not be difficult to loosen because of the effects of corrosion.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a connector assembly for battery cables and the like which will not injure the cable or the battery terminal post when it is attached thereto.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide an improved connector assembly, of the character described, that is easily and economically produced, which is sturdy in construction and which is highly efficient in operation.

With the above and related objects in view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view showing a battery with the terminal posts thereof connected to cables by means of connectors embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, detailed, fragmentary side elevational view of the battery and of the connector of Fig. 1 in position.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the connector shown in the previous figures wherein the connector assembly is in open position.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawing wherein ice The connector assembly :16 comprises a pair of elongated plate 22 and 24, eaeh of which isgenerally straight alongiits majori lengthens is provided with a laterallyott- 10 set}, eencavely-eurveuclamppo'rtion atone end, asat $26 andt28- respectively T-he-clamp portions 26 and'"28 are .1 enerally similar in sizeand shape 1 but are complemen- =tary-to each--other, wliereby they extend laterally in op- ,positmdirmtiddst plates- M and M' are-aligned in general parallelism :to each other and ere -connected by a* transverse bolt #30.

' lihis bdlt has a head =32 at one end and a hexagonalnut 34 at the other end. By -this 'construction, the nut" may be removed and the bo1twithdrawn to disassemble the device; when'de' 'lfhemlate's' ar'e loosely 1 held by the boltaittl is'o that r the oplen positien they have substantial free play relative toeach other.

tAlso r'no'tinted "nt-lie bdlt 30, externally ofthe plates 22 anu M are-apair fi'pivotal arms and 38 connected 'by an i-ntegral h tlge -portion 4.4). These-arms and-the bridge --portioricdmbine to form =agenerally U-sh'aped were generally d'esignalt'ed at 4 2*. A fiat extension 44extends em new the bridge pernenna to-form a'handlc.

on therex ternal suriac'e of cach -plate 22-and 2 14 t here is provided a rib, as at 46 and 48 respectively. These ribs are provided with inclined cam portions, as at 47 and 49 and are positioned intermediate the ends of their respective plates, spaced from the bolt 30. They are adapted to serve as friction engagement members for the arms of the yoke.

In operation, when the cable is to be connected to the terminal post, the terminal portion of the cable, as indicated at 50 and 52, is inserted between the straight ends of the plates 22 and 24. The connector assembly is then attached to the terminal post by engaging each offset clamp portion 26 and 28 around the post. The yoke 42 is then brought down from the dotted line position, shown in Fig. 2, to the full line position. As the yoke moves to this full line position, the arms of the yoke: move over the respective inclined cam portions 47 and 49 of the ribs 46 and 48 and then down over the wide bottom portions of the ribs, so that the ribs act as frictional engagement members for the yoke. This causes the plates 22 and 24 to be pressed toward each other, thereby locking the cable terminal and the terminal post within the connector.

When it is desired to remove the cable from the battery, it is merely necessary to grasp the handle 44 and pull up on the yoke, thereby immediately removing the pressure from the sides of the plates and releasing the battery terminal post and cable.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

1. A connector assembly comprising a pair of elongated plates, each plate having clamping portions, said clamping portions being at both corresponding ends of their respective plates, a generally U-shaped yoke having its arms pivotally connected to said plates by a transverse bolt loosely mounted therethrough at a position intermediate the ends of said plates, and a camming rib extending laterally out from the outer surface of each plate, said ribs being longitudinally spaced from the pivotal connections of said yoke and adapted to be frictionally en- 3. The connector assembly of claim 1 wherein said yoke is provided with a handle.

4. The connector assembly of claim 1 wherein said clamping portions comprise concave members integral with their corresponding plates.

5. A connector assembly comprising a pair of generally parallel, elongated plates transversely connected by a bolt, said bolt being held in position by a nut, said plates being loosely held by said belt, a yoke comprising a pair of arms, each arm being pivotally mounted on said bolt outwardly of a corresponding plate, there being a bridge member connecting said arms, and a camming rib positioned on the outer surface of each plate, each rib being spaced from the pivotal mounting of said arms on said bolt, longitudinally of said plates.

6. The connector assembly of claim 5 wherein said plates have complementary clamping portions at corrcsponding ends and other complementary clamping portions at the other ends.

7. A connector assembly comprising a pair of elongated plates having cooperating clamping portions atboth ends thereof, and being loosely connected by transverse connecting means, a yoke pivotally mounted on said transverse connecting means outwardly of said plates, and camming ribs extending laterally from the outer surface of each plate in a position to be frictionally engaged by said 4 yoke upon pivotal movement of said yoke into a predetermined position relative to said plates.

8. A battery cable and post connector assembly comprising a pair of generally parallel elongated plates having bolt receiving apertures spaced from but nearer to one of the ends of each plate than to the other, a bolt loosely extending through said apertures, a nut for securing said bolt in position, a U-shaped yoke comprising a pair of arms and connecting bridge pivotally mounted at the ends of its arms on said bolt outwardly of a corresponding plate, a camming rib on the outer surface of each plate, each rib being spaced from the pivotal mounting 'of said yoke arms on said bolt longitudinally of said plates, the non-apertured ends of said plates each terminating in clamping portions complementary to a battery post, the other ends of said plates terminating in clamping portions complementary to a battery cable end, whereby a battery cable may be connected to a battery post by placing the clamping portions complementary to a battery'post on opposite sides of a battery post, and by placing the other end clamping portions on opposite sides of a cable end, andthen camming the yoke downwardly over the camming ribs to firmly secure the post and the battery in good electrical and mechanical connection.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,724,753 Doherty Aug. 13, 1929 1,794,179 Keen Feb. 24, 1931 1,975,666 Riddle Oct. 2, 1934 2,204,387 Steenholdt June 11, 1940 

